The Happy Hollow Helpers

Thanks, in part, to a SUASCO grant, fifth grade students from Happy Hollow School spent their last days of school learning about all the National Wild and Scenic Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord  Rivers. On June 20, 2018,  all of the fifth graders decided to act to protect these wonderful rivers.

By Samantha Lee and Madison Ngai

June 20, 2018

Fifth Grade students from Happy Hollow Elementary School in Wayland took part in helping out the community of Wayland. Alongside Patrick Conaway, a former Wayland Middle School teacher and current naturalist and environmental activist, the students from Happy Hollow walked along the roads, woods, and river picking up litter as they hiked. The eleven year old students from Happy Hollow cleaned up cigarettes, glass, bottles and much more that were scattered across the roads and sidewalks. The students walked more than 3.2 miles along a littered route. Officer Bowles and Officer Sloan accompanied the Happy Hollow students and were able to help them stay safe while helping out the community.

The fifth grade students walked 0.2 miles to their first destination, Old Connecticut Path. It took the students less than four minutes to walk there. Litter that was scattered across the roads was cleaned up and thrown away. They found so many different kinds of litter including beer bottles, cigarettes, pencils, plastic bags, a pair of pants, utensils, a tire, a rusty broken up freezer, and even a bumper! They also found a dead baby red eye hawk and a dead owl.

The next stop was Stonebridge Road. It was a short walk to get there, but was still full of litter. It was a 0.9 mile walk from Old Connecticut Path along Stonebridge Road. It took them about 19 minutes to walk that part of the route. Reusable plastic buckets that the students were carrying with them were filled to the top in just minutes! As they walked along the road, their legs got very tired and they felt the need to rest and stop, but they kept on pushing on for the good of the environment. They knew that it was more important to help save the environment from all of the litter and pollution than to take a break.

Finally, the last stop was Old Stonebridge Road. It was a 0.4 mile walk which took them about ten minutes. When they finally got to the river, they knew that it was all worth it. All the buckets were filled with the litter found on the roads. They picked up the trash that was floating around inside the Sudbury River too which included glass, cans, and netting. There they had a talk with Patrick Conaway about helping the environment, and they also learned that sometimes nature needs protection from themselves too. Patrick Conaway taught the students that some invasive vines like the Asian bittersweet sprout up from the ground and wrap themselves around trees, suffocating them. To help the beautiful trees, they helped take some of the vines down using tools that Patrick Conaway gave them.

Happy Hollow students, Samantha Lee and Madison Ngai said, “The experience of helping the community stay litter-free was truly amazing. I’d love to do it again!” The girls realized how many people pollute the area, and immediately wanted to help out. They tried their hardest to help clean up and encourage their classmates to pick up the trash too and not be lazy and sword fight with the grabbers, or tell the other students to do their own biddings. We asked a student to share some of what she learned that day, and she said, “I think it’s best to keep the environment clean so you can enjoy it.”  Samantha Lee and Madison Ngai as well as many of their classmates continue to persuade people to help keep the environment healthy and free from pollution. In fact, as our graphs show, not that many children had cleaned up the environment before the hike, but afterwards most thought it was a good idea.

Because of pollution, so many animals get hurt, and sometimes even die! For example, if someone forgets to throw away a plastic bag, it could make its way down to a river and an animal could suffocate! This happens to many turtles, and it causes them lots of pain while they suffocate. Many people don’t think of the consequences when they litter; most people don’t think of what would happen to the animals. A couple years ago, there was a forest fire that was burning the woods in Wayland. This started from one cigarette that was thrown onto the ground. This caused many forest animals to lose their habitats. The person who had thrown away the cigarette probably didn’t think what would happen. And that’s why people shouldn’t dump oils, chemicals, or any kind of liquid that’s not water because the water will get polluted. It’s very hard for the fish to breathe in a toxic environment. For example, a factory built long ago disposed a toxic chemical called mercury into the Sudbury River. There was about 45 to 57 metric tons of mercury that was exposed to the creatures that lived in the river. Even many years later, the mercury still rests at the bottom of the Sudbury River. The mercury over time was slowly washed away, but mercury still rests at the bottom. For the past years, any fish that have been caught in the Sudbury River may not be eaten, and have to be released back into the water.

As you can see, it’s a big problem that people litter, and most people never even given a single thought about cleaning up our environment. When the students in fifth grade at Happy Hollow heard that they were going to be helping to pick up the litter around Wayland, all the students were ecstatic. And after a total of 3.2 miles and more than an hour, one part of the town of Wayland was clean.

The students and teachers were very grateful that such protective and caring officers were there to help out if anything happened. The Happy Hollow students and teachers also want to thank Patrick Conaway for being there to help guide the students and help clean up the environment too.